Medicaid delay will create chaos for Obamacare enrollment

In addition to costing the state $7 million a day, a delay in the Medicaid expansion approved by the state Senate will create “chaos and confusion” for those consumers trying to sort out Obamacare, according to the leader of a nonprofit group that will assist with Michigan’s enrollment process.

The enrollment period for the uninsured begins Oct. 1 and lasts until March 31, 2014. But if the Senate does not grant immediate effect for the Medicaid plan, the sign-up period for that aspect of the health care reforms will be delayed until late March -- just as the enrollment period for private insurance coverage is ending.

“It will create a lot of confusion and chaos. At this point, all they (the senators) would be doing is to deny coverage to their own constituents,” said Don Hazaert, director of the Lansing-based Michigan Consumers for Healthcare.

On Tuesday, the Senate narrowly approved the Medicaid expansion but fell two votes short of the 26 needed to grant immediate effect. The 24-14 vote was less than the required two-thirds and, with the Senate possibly voting again on the issue this coming Tuesday, the 14 Republican holdouts have vowed to remain steadfast.

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“Hopefully, they still will support it,” said U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who is working with MCH to achieve a smooth Michigan implementation of Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act. “Even those who voted ‘no’ … have to realize that this is going to happen. All they would gain is to delay implementation. If they look at what benefits the consumer, this is what makes sense.”

Yet, those 14 GOP senators say they will break with protocol because they want to avoid any “ownership” of Obamacare, which they view as a wasteful and expensive expansion of government. A leading voice in opposition to immediate effect is Sen. Jack Brandenburg, a Harrison Township Republican.

Bills that receive approval from the Michigan Legislature and the governor but fail to achieve immediate effect status do not emerge as a new law until 90 days after the official final legislative session day of the year. That typically means a starting point in late March.

If that is the process followed for the Medicaid legislation, Hazaert said, consumers will be told that enrollment for private insurance offered under Obamacare begins on Oct. 1 -- except for those “working poor” who qualify for Medicaid coverage.

The start of that enrollment period would be unclear for months, unless the Snyder administration allows sign-ups for Medicaid on a heavily advanced basis. The private insurance policies will launch on Jan. 1.

Gov. Snyder has urged the Senate to avoid this potential mess – and avoid the loss of an estimated $7 million daily in federal funding – by putting the program into place immediately.

Meanwhile, MCH is one of the nonprofit agencies that is gearing up after receiving federal funding to help organize and publicize the enrollment process. The group will be working with 135 nonprofits that will each provide at least one “navigator.”

Trained, certified navigators will assist consumers in choosing the health plan for them on the Michigan exchange – the online marketplace where 14 private insurance companies will compete for customers.

MCH will work with elected officials, religious groups, business associations and student organizations to establish a grassroots enrollment effort. That education/promotion plan will include computers and kiosks at shopping malls, fliers at church events, and possibly some public appearances by Michigan athletes and others with “celebrity status.”

In addition, Enroll America, a nonprofit group dedicated to a successful rollout of Obamacare, will have a staff of eight in Michigan that will canvass neighborhoods, assisting with enrollment questions from residents.